


Bids

by Upstarsfromreality



Category: Elementary (TV)
Genre: Loyalty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:01:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26204608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Upstarsfromreality/pseuds/Upstarsfromreality
Kudos: 6





	Bids

Joan looked from the security camera footage and went downstairs to find Sean. "Where am I on the schedule today?" she asked.

"Almost on time. You should have an hour this evening either to write or to play with Arthur, but probably not both," replied Sean.

"Oh, definitely play with Arthur. The book is not going anywhere and he is running everywhere. But what's next right now? she added.

"I've got those bids from the contractors you asked for." 

"Great, I'll take a look at them in the office."

Two minutes later, Joan came back upstairs. "Sean, what happened to the bid from Ramon Morales with Brownstones by Ramon? Didn't he want the job?"

"Oh, I took that one out of the pile," said Sean. "It was the highest bid."

"The four bids you did give me looked pretty close together. Was Ramon's very far out of their range?"

"Not that far," said Sean, "but I figured you didn't want to see the highest bid."

Joan frowned. "Sean, please follow me." She led him into the meditation and fitness room off the kitchen. Reaching behind the small bookcase in the room, Joan pulled out a picture and handed it to Sean. "Sherlock kept that in here as motivation," she explained.

Sean looked at the picture. It showed the room he was standing in before it had been renovated. It had the same dingy paint as all the rest of the downstairs had until recently and the upstairs, which the bids concerned, still did. What was odd about the picture, though, was the doors to the rooms. Something had smashed right through the glass panes and the woodwork separating them. The picture didn't show any reason for this to have happened. There wasn't any blood to show this was a crime scene, nor any smoke or water damage from a fire.

"Sherlock was ill the summer a year before he was killed," said Joan. "He had post-concussion syndrome after he was attacked on the way home from a meeting. He did that during a hallucination. Knowing what I do about his history, I believe it must have been a traumatic one."

"Ok," said Sean, not really sure where this was going.

Joan continued. "I requested four contractors to fix the doors and some holes in the walls. Three of them looked at the damage and then looked down on us. One had the gall to ask me how drugged up we were when it happened. Ramon was different. When he came in the front door, he started in right away on how great it was to see the original woodwork preserved. I knew seeing those glass doors would break his heart, and I was right. He didn't judge, though, just quietly explained how he would put it right. He got the job, of course."

"So you wanted me to get his bid out of loyalty," said Sean. "I'm sorry I didn't include it with the others."

"That's not the only reason I'm loyal to Ramon Morales," said Joan. "Sherlock's illness also caused him debilitating headaches and dizzy spells, made worse by loud sounds or intense smells. There were three times during that short project when we had to ask Ramon to stop work, because Sherlock couldn't deal with the noise of the tools or the fumes of the varnish. Ramon never complained. He had an apprentice working with him. The apprentice told me when the job was finished that Ramon had paid him for the full day all three times.

"That is why I asked you to get Ramon's bid and three others, Sean. Ramon has passion for what he does and compassion for the people he does it with and for. When I have a job on this brownstone, Ramon gets to bid. If his bid comes in any less than fifteen percent over the average, he gets the job. Always," said Joan.

Three weeks later, Sean's temporary contract as assistant came to an end. For the first time ever, he was tempted to take the option to ask if the assignment could be extended. When Joan said of course it could, Ramon took Sean out for a beer to celebrate.


End file.
